MOSS LANDING — A new data dashboard is now online and available to the public to track where environmental testing and monitoring have taken place across Monterey County and neighboring counties in response to the fire at Vistra’s Moss Landing battery plant back in January.
A Geographic Information System, or GIS, is a computer system that analyzes and displays data linked to specific geographic locations. The new interactive dashboard allows users to find results of water and soil testing, in addition to screening results collected throughout the Moss Landing area dating back to Jan. 17.
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The site will continue to be updated as additional testing results are analyzed, including the most recent samples collected as part of the Community Sampling Plan.
Due to the large volume of air monitoring data, the dashboard is being updated in phases. Some of this data has already been incorporated, and the remaining information will be added over time to ensure accuracy and completeness, according to county officials Tuesday.
The GIS dashboard brings together data from a range of reliable sources to provide a comprehensive view of environmental conditions. Contributors include the Environmental Protection Agency, Vistra’s environmental consultant, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Monterey County Environmental Health Bureau, to name a few.
Departments and organizations from Santa Cruz County will also contribute, in addition to local grassroots community groups like Never Again Moss Landing, who contributed screening data.
Monterey County staff worked with health experts to find data to help check for possible health risks. The dashboard can show test results that meet or go above certain health levels as well as notify users when new information is found.
Monitoring will continue during debris removal and site cleanup. Because of this, new data might not always be added right away or on a regular schedule, according to officials.
The fire at the Vistra battery plant started Jan. 16, caused the evacuation of 1,200 people in the Moss Landing area, released smoke and toxic heavy metals and kept Highway 1 closed for three days. One of the largest electricity providers in the United States, Vistra stacked 100,000 batteries in an aging concrete building at a former 1950s-era PG&E natural gas plant when it built the facility five years ago.
Earlier this month, PG&E informed Monterey County it plans on reactivating its Elkhorn Battery Storage Facility in Moss Landing by June 1 after turning it off in January in response to the Vistra battery fire. On Sept. 20, 2022, a single Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at PG&E’s battery facility causing officials to close Highway 1 in the area as a precaution. The fire was extinguished and did not spread into adjacent megapacks or equipment.
The full site and more information can be found at www.mtyhd.org/MossLandingBatteryFireDashboard.